Principal Information Technology Infrastructure Engineer

MESO SCALE DIAGNOSTICS, LLC.•Rockville, MD

3d•$131,600 - $205,625•Onsite

About The Position

The Principal IT Infrastructure Engineer serves as MSD’s senior technical authority for core compute and identity infrastructure, including virtualization, containerization, identity and access management, directory services, and cloud productivity platforms. The role sets architectural direction, resolves complex escalations, and ensures infrastructure is designed, deployed, and maintained in a controlled, auditable manner consistent with GxP and 21 CFR Part 11 expectations. The engineer owns enterprise virtualization architecture and hands-on engineering across VMware and Nutanix platforms, leads the VMware-to-Nutanix migration, and designs and supports containerization and orchestration platforms. The position also supports storage integration, Windows and Linux server operating systems, identity and access services, automation, infrastructure-as-code, backup and disaster recovery, and certificate/PKI management. The role leads technology evaluations and vendor discussions, serves as the senior escalation point for complex infrastructure issues, and mentors other engineers. It collaborates with IT leadership and network, security, storage, application, and other departmental teams on infrastructure strategy and projects. This is an onsite position in a traditional office and data center environment, with some remote work flexibility. Occasional off-hours or on-call support may be required for planned maintenance, migrations, or incident response.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
At least 8 years of hands-on experience engineering and administering enterprise virtualization and/or containerization platforms, with demonstrated senior- or principal-level technical experience.
Expert-level experience with VMware vSphere/ESXi/vCenter in a production environment.
Hands-on experience with containerization and orchestration platforms such as Docker, Kubernetes, or AWS ECS in a production environment.
Experience architecting and supporting hybrid on-premises/cloud infrastructure using AWS, Azure, or GCP.
Expert-level knowledge of VMware virtualization technologies and underlying compute, storage, and networking concepts.
Good working understanding of containerization and orchestration technologies and their interaction with virtualization platforms.
Experience designing and supporting hybrid infrastructure spanning on-premises data centers and AWS.
Solid knowledge of Windows and Linux server operating systems and their deployment and support on virtualized and physical platforms.
Working knowledge of identity and directory services, including Active Directory, ADFS, IDAM/SSO, DNS, and DHCP.
Knowledge of certificate-based authentication and encryption, including issuing, deploying, and managing PKI/TLS certificates.
Knowledge of backup technologies and procedures, including backup and recovery design, testing, and retention practices.
Working knowledge of networking fundamentals, including VLANs, routing, load balancing, and firewalls, as they relate to virtualized and hybrid environments.
Scripting and automation experience using tools such as PowerCLI, Python, Bash, Ansible, or Terraform.
Understanding of backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity practices for virtualized environments.
Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills across compute, storage, network, and hypervisor layers.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively, mentor engineers, and communicate technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to document architecture and procedures.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Nutanix AOS/AHV/Prism or comparable HCI platforms, or direct experience leading a VMware-to-Nutanix or similar hyperconverged migration.
Hands-on experience with Pure Storage.
Relevant certifications such as VCP/VCAP, Nutanix NCP/NCA, CKA, or AWS/Azure/GCP certifications; certifications are a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

Own the architecture, design, and hands-on engineering of enterprise virtualization platforms, including compute, storage, and networking across VMware vSphere/ESXi and Nutanix AOS/AHV.
Lead the technical strategy and execution of VMware-to-Nutanix migration, including workload assessment, dependency mapping, target architecture, migration planning, VM conversion, and post-migration validation.
Design, build, and support containerization and orchestration platforms such as Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS ECS, including cluster architecture, image and registry standards, and infrastructure integration.
Partner with storage teams to design, implement, and maintain storage integration for virtualized and containerized workloads.
Deploy, configure, and support Windows and Linux server operating systems on virtualized, containerized, and physical infrastructure.
Design and support identity and access services, including Active Directory, ADFS, and IDAM/SSO integrations.
Develop and maintain architecture documentation, standard operating procedures, capacity plans, and runbooks.
Develop automation and infrastructure-as-code to streamline provisioning, configuration, and operational tasks.
Partner with network, security, storage, and application teams to design resilient, secure solutions, including backup, disaster recovery, and certificate/PKI management.
Lead technology evaluations, proof-of-concepts, and vendor discussions related to virtualization, containerization, HCI, and cloud platforms; make recommendations to IT leadership.
Serve as the senior escalation point for complex issues spanning hypervisor, container, storage, network, and guest operating system layers.
Mentor and provide technical leadership to systems and infrastructure engineers.
Collaborate with IT leadership and other departments on infrastructure strategy and projects, and perform other duties as assigned.